You're Tired is Showing
by Lyra Anna Ly
Summary: An AI Football GGO Fanfiction. Emma hasn't slept in a few days, and the headache that grows from this is more than enough to cause her to try and find her cousin at last, perhaps one of them could help. When she forgets where she' going, and ends up unconscious in the nurse's office, she finally realizes just how bad the crisis had gotten.


**Okay, so I didn't want to write the story like this, as Emma does not normally act like this, but research was done to make this one-shot, and everything actually adds up to what it needed to. While I don't really know the full scope of what could happen, this is from Emma's life as well, and the kid is pretty resilient. Please keep all of this in mind when reading.**

* * *

Emma was tired.

Not the fun little tired, where she started dozing off a little bit, her attention span running a little thin. This was a devastating kind of tired that seemed to be eating her from the inside out, one that pounded on her head as if there were a marching band traveling around it. There was something absolutely sickening to her about this kind of tired that seemed to tax out her mind and body in an attempt to shut down fully. Even the thought of moving, or doing anything that would require energy made the dull ach in her body flare back up with pin point accuracy.

So of course she was going to school today.

Her parents wouldn't be likely to let her miss a day if she were quite literally throwing up everything that had ever managed to pass through her system, and this was one of the times that she really felt that this was more cruel and unusual than even their normal strictness of each and every meticulously planned and ruthless regime that they used to plan her life. After three cups of coffee and a long and drawn out talk to convince the nurse that she did not need her parents called, she was back to powering through it. The counselor had also requested to meet with her, which had been fine at first, as it was a rather small but cosy room, with little noise other than Mrs. Kanami's soft voice, but then there was a fight that called the attention of her and many of the other administration.

Emma was back to classes with loud classmates, and teachers who seemed just a little to excited to teach their courses. Normally, the young girl would enjoy this fact, because it made the class a lot more interactive and she looked forward to them. As it stood now though, she couldn't wait to get out of the class and maybe find one of her cousins that could help her out.

Now, you might be wondering exactly why Emma is so incredibly tired, and the answer to that would be three days of stress in which she could not seem to find rest and relaxation. Perhaps it had something to do with the higher level courses she was taking in a bold attempt to catch up with either Maria or Cat, or it could be the returning fear that her parents were planning yet another surprise for her. Sure, it wasn't likely that they would do more than expand on the idea of her wedding, but even that made her mind race with all the thoughts that seemed to run back to one strand in a winding tree of never ending possibilities. We need to figure out how to stop it.

It was a conversation that had been had many a time before between her and Kyo, but neither one of them had been able to get their hands on the contract, so they had no idea how to break it yet. Had it been anyone but their parents, the two would have made a simple trip to Andy's and found the outline of a normal marriage contract, and all that it entails, printing it and marking each and every place they might think was a loop hole, or could lead to one. With the families they were working with however, neither could be sure enough that the contract would hold enough help to them.

Maria hadn't been able to do anything either, which had only elevated the annoyance of the youngest family member, causing her sleep patterns to continue in their unusual pattern. As a result, every part of her physical body was taking the toll of a few restless nights, and her mind wouldn't calm enough for her to imagine it would be any easier now. She really should take a break and figure out a way to get some rest soon. Wouldn't that be something…

Either way, she didn't see anything like that happening until she got through the school day at least. Not that she was even sure she'd make it that long, but the hope was there. After three hours of classes, she was positive her goal was out of reach and set off to find her cousin, Karl's classes were a lot closer to her than Maria's, so she figured he would be the best bet. The problem with that course of action, was the fact that she seemed to forget where she was going about half way there, and started making her way towards the nurse again.

About half-way there, she was down, having bumped straight into Kyo, whose parents had transferred him to her school once they had all been able to talk and get to know each other again. They had said it was best to have the two go to school in the same place, as it would allow them to work towards goals together, and both the children had agreed. Emma didn't remember much of this at the moment though, as Kyo pulled her up off the ground. She didn't even realise he had been talking, and she nodded her head automatically, a few hums of approval or disgust leaving her without thought.

She remembered yawning, and Kyo had stopped speaking to really look at her for a minute, causing her to glance back at him. "What?"

"Are you alright? You don't really seem like yourself." How many times was she gonna have to answer this question today? Emma was beginning to lose her patience and her mind, which reminded her. The girl stopped in her tracks, her head tilting to the side a bit as she tried to recall where she was going, but she couldn't seem to even figure out where she was.

"Hang on, where are we going?"

"What?" That was no help. Emma's voice came out a bit more forced than she meant it to when she asked again.

"I asked where we were going. Better yet, where are we in the building?" Kyo seemed to realise what was going on at that point, his face lighting up in realization before he answered her question.

"We're near the library right now, heading towards the nurses office. You wanted to see if you could call Andy for something." Kyo said, and Emma was almost positive that wasn't what she had been doing, but nodded anyways, not really caring enough to argue. It wasn't but a moment later that she walked straight into a wall. In the end, Kyo carried her to the nurse, as Emma didn't seem to be recovering anytime soon, and the girl had passed out shortly after he managed to get her up.

Karl had never seen his cousin look so worse for wear, and wasn't quite sure what to do about hearing that she had collapsed in the hallway, on the way to what seemed like she was meaning to go to the office or something. All he knew was that he was out of the door of the classroom before the teacher even finished telling him the story. Timmy ended up packing his things up and walking down at a much more humane speed.

Cat and Riff had also heard the news, and had similar reactions to the two younger members of barefoot, though they did both manage to dump their things back into their bags rather sloppily, zipping them up and rushing out of the class as fast as they could.

Maria had taken the news in a bit less of a panicked state of mind, knowing exactly what had happened, of at least having a pretty good guess. The oldest of her family sighed, mumbling under her breath about how she had told her cousin to slow down and get some sleep. She put her things away and grabbed the pass her teacher had written her before making her way to the nurse, where her cousin was currently passed out.

Issac hadn't been in his class when the news came, but had seen Karl speed past him down the hallway in the rush. He had frowned, and quickened his pace back to the classroom, just as Timmy was getting out of the class. The main controller of team barefoot asked then, "What's going on?"

"Emma passed out, we've all been called to the nurses office so we'll be able to answer any questions that the nurse has. Plus, they want to make sure someone is there when she wakes up." Timmy answered, "When you grab your things, could you grab the pass too? I don't think Karl did and my arms are full."

"Sure, I'll meet you guys down there then. Is she okay though?" Issac asked, concerned for the younger girl, but also curious about why she passed out. Timmy shrugged, moving out of the way so Issac could get inside.

"I think that's what we're about to find out." He said, his voice laced with fear and sadness. Emma had become a little sister to all of them, besides being a daughter to cat, and not one of them were sure they would be able to handle if if she wasn't going to be alright.

Issac said nothing, there was nothing to say after that in his mind, and walked into class without another thought. "Ah, Issac, they called you down to the nurses office with Karl and Timmy. Hurry and pack up, the pass is on my desk."

Issac did exactly that before heading out towards the front of the school where everyone seemed to be waiting. Karl was putting up quite the fight for his cousin, who seemed as if she would be passed out for quite a while longer. "I'm telling you she won't want you to call them! Just call Andy, she'll throw a fit if she wakes up to see her parents!"

Emma stirred slightly at that, turning to face the wall of the office, and Issac could have sworn he saw her eyes open slightly. Maria must have caught it too, as the eldest student in the room made her way over to her and Kyo, who was sitting next to the girls bed, whispering in a way that was barely noticeable, unless you were really looking.

"We can't agree to do that! It's the right of her parents to know what's happened!"

"What if she was picked up by someone else before the call home was made?" Issac asked Cat, who had managed to step back and watch them argue, a scowl on her face as te nurse continued to refuse.

"What do you mean?" Cat asked, turning back to him, her mood seeming significantly brighter.

"They don't call parents unless someone needs to be picked up, right? And if a kid gets picked up early, the only way they would know was if they managed to get a copy of the attendance, but Andy's already been signed off to pick all of them up." Issac didn't need to finish, as Cat had caught on to his plans.

"So as long as she gets here first, her parents will never know!" Cat realised, pulling out her own cell phone to put that plan into motion. Andy picked up right away, asking what was wrong, and a short chat later she was on her way to the school to pick up her niece.

Andy lived relatively close to the school, and was there within five minutes, Karl having been ignored at this point, she walked in just as the nurse was sent to te voicemail of Emma's mother.

"Hello?" Andy said, causing the nurse to jump as she turned to see the new lady standing there. "I came to pick up Emma, I'm suppose to take her to the doctor today."

"Yes, and you'd be?" The nurse asked, annoyance showing on her face, and Andy couldn't help herself.

"Well I'm her Aunt of course. Third contact, cleared to pick her up, and the one she's staying with right now. Her parents aren't always available, you see, and they asked me to watch her for a while."

Karl grinned at his Aunt as the nurse began stuttering apologies, obviously embarrassed at having been proved wrong. "Now, I'm suppose to be taking my niece to the doctor, if you please? I'll go ahead and pick up the others as well. Karl, Maria, Kyo, Cat, Timmy, Issac, Riff, you all have your things, correct?"

"Yes." The kids all answered at once.

"Does anyone know where Emma's class is?"

"Yeah." Kyo answered, standing up from his spot beside her. It seemed like she had fallen back asleep. Cat, Riff, and Maria nodded, all four heading towards the door.

"Make sure to tell her teacher what's going on." Andy called after them.

"Yes ma'am" Kyo and Maria called, waving as they left.

Emma woke up for a minute, opened her eyes for a second, closed them again, fell back asleep.

Issac was watching closer this time, and Karl was sitting close enough to her cousin to hear her this time. It happened again about three minutes later. Emma started whimpering, quietly in her sleep, her breathing would get faster, and then she'd wake up.

Her eyes would never open fully, but they closed automatically afterward, and she would let out a small whine, Karl could swear she was trying to open her eyes again, but he started talking to her, not loud like he usually was, but telling her one of her favorite stories. She relaxed, she fell back asleep, Karl stopped once he thought she was far enough in sleep.

She woke up again though, and the process would start over again, until Karl just kept telling the story, and telling story after story while she slept. Emma still woke up occasionally, but by then they were on the road. Kyo had taken to writing down the names of the stories, knowing that this could always happen again in the future.

* * *

Emma was declared sleep deprived, and the doctor simply said that a day or two off from school to rest up would be best for her, as it would give her time to recover her lost energy. It was the sole loss of energy that caused each of the side-effects she had been experiencing, and the doctor was surprised at the amount of effect it had taken.

"It looks like night terrors are causing her to continue waking up, and it seems like a buildup of stress is keeping her from reaching resting on her own. If I may, the stories might just be giving her mind something to focus on, and the voice being constant keeps her focus on it." The doctors suggestions were quite the wake up call for the group of nine, Emma herself included after her latest call to the real world. Her mind was still in a bit of a buz, but that didn't stop her from at least somewhat comprehending what the doctor had said. "I'm going to list off the side effects, so you'll know what you're dealing with the next few days."

It was at this moment that Emma's mind started to drift once more, it seemed she couldn't be bothered anymore, and even as she tried to focus, all she could do was think about what she had already experienced. The voice of the expert was simply a dull buzzing to her, and she soon started hoping it would just leave her alone.

"First, the bags under her eyes are a definite sign that she hasn't been sleeping right, but if you'll also notice, I want you to look closer at them." The doctor said, waving his hand in front of her face; Emma didn't even bat an eyelash. "They're glazed over, indicating that she's not really with us, or aware of her surroundings at least. She's fine right now!"

Karl and Andy's horrified faces didn't seem to leave, but the assurance seemed to allow the scare to lessen. The doctors reflex to their reaction caused quite a few jumps in the room from people who hadn't noticed the to though. Everyone stiffened as they realised what this could mean. "She might also need to be looked over though, because another side-effect is clumsiness and the inability to hold a thought for to long. There may also be a bit of a strain on her patience and temper. Headaches are common as well, and she should be showing more signs of tiredness as her hours of sleep start increasing."

"Why isn't she now?" Karl asked, his face showing nothing but confusion.

"Cause I'm used to it." Emma answered, startling quite a few of them. "I do have them, but I'm better at hiding them than most people. It's not like something like this is uncommon."

"What do you mean?" Issac asked her, gaining her attention.

"Exactly that. Something like this happens once a year at least, just usually not this bad. My parents used to call it my once a year insomnia, remember?" The last part was spoken to her cousin, who she now turned to with a bit more amusement than she meant to show. Karl, however, did not find this the least bit funny.

"Emma, how long has it been since you really slept?" Karl asked, his voice taking on that same tone that it always did when this happened, even back then. It meant that this was serious, and he was worried. She couldn't just leave him without a definite answer.

"Umm…" Emma's face took on a look of utter concentration as she tried to remember exactly when. "Three days? Maybe four?"

"Well that would explain it yes." The doctor said, remaining calm as he wrote something on his clipboard. "Emberlyn Zhao, correct?"

"Yes sir." Emma said, laying back as she lost interest again.

"Well, I think she'll be fine after a day or two, but if it doesn't get any better, you might want to consider getting a therapist instead of a doctor." He said, looking up from his clipboard. "Emma."

"What?" Emma asked, sighing as she was called back to the conversation.

"I'll see you for your monthly checkup in two weeks, got it?"

"Yes, Doctor Sho."

"And by the way, you're tired is showing." He commented off-handedly as he walked out of the room, causing Emma to burst out laughing. 

"He always was my favorite doctor." She told them as she wiped tears from her eyes.


End file.
